Mexico Torreon Overprints

These overprints were issued in celebration of Francisco (Pancho) Villa's victory in the Battle of Torreon. These were issued in very small quantities. The top values, 20c and 50c, were only 50 each issued.

fotofila, are they in the Scott catalog? (Torreon overprints)

Absolutely! Scott 362~368.

Thanks, but just like the Trentino overprints I like..they have to mention that excellent counterfeits of the overprint exist !!

i saw on Spike TV that Pancho had arthritis in his hands which affected his shooting a pistol... a pity !

Pancho Villa lived only for 45 years. That was too young to have arthritis. He was assassinated at a young age. He was an amazing character, turning from a murderer/ bandit to a revolution leader, a hero to all Mexicans. I have a collection of a few hundreds of postcards with actual photos of the Mexico Revolution. They really tell the story well. I will place some interesting one here later.

45 is not too young to have arthritis. I've had a form of rheumatoid arthritis (actually psoriatic arthritis, same as golfer Pete Mickelson) since I was 27 and am now 63. There also is juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, that affects kids.

Hi fotofila,

Pancho Villa was indeed a hero to the people of Mexico. But I feel Hollywood, which is how most people know of him, has never really done the man justice. Here is a photo of Villa standing between General Obregon and Maj.General Pershing. It is clear that Villa and Obregon do not trust one another, Villa with good reason, as they are both obviously wearing sidearms beneath their coats (Villa possibly three.) The tall young US Army officer looking over Pershing's left shoulder is a young Lt. George S.Patton who was with the 8th US Cavalry at the time.

Terry

Its not the end of the world,,but the documentary I saw said that Pancho Villa favored a Colt Biseley revolver with a wide hammer due to severe arthritis in his hands...his body was probably older than his 45 years !

Terence As far as I know, Obregon was an one-armed general. Your photo shows that he has both arms. Of course, I did not know when and how he had lost his right arm. I have about a dozen pictures showing Obregon and not even one that shows Obregon with both arms. Do you have any historical background of this?

Top: General "Pancho" Villa
Bottom: Madero and his supporters. Pancho Villa, first left in top row.

Hi fotofila,

Yes, you are right, he did lose an arm. General Obregon fought four battles, collectively known as the Battle of Celaya, against Villa, whom he defeated. It was at one of these engagements, the Battle of Trinidad and Santa Ana del Conde, that he lost his arm around the 6th/15th July 1915.

Terry

Terry: Do you collect Mexico Revolution stamps and covers?

Hi fotofila,

I would love to, but none have come my way yet. I have a small collection of early Mexican, but nothing exotic. Could you by chance recommend a good catalogue for Mexico? I am in the process of replacing all my Gibbons catalogues with better and more specialized catalogues. You are right, by the way, about the Colt's Bisley revolver. The hammer is wide, deeply curved and has no thumb spur. The butt is more vertical than that of the usual Colt and the grips were available in chequered rubber. All details which would have made handling and firing much easier for anyone with limited hand manipulation. Many variations but here is a typical Bisley shooting iron....

Terry

I do collect Mexico, primarily the classic period. I have two specialized collecting areas, namely, 1. 1913~1920 The Revolution (Civil War) period and 2. The Maximilian Empire, when Mexico was under French "control" temporarily. These are the catalogs I use in addition of Scott. Both catalogs were written by Nick Follansbee, who is the expert in Mexico Revolution philately and a long-time friend of mine. Please visit my https://www.facebook.com/MexicoRevo...onPhilately, which I created purely for information and fun.

Terry: It is mexicorevolution philately. Please find it so we can communicate there.